Superstitions

Superstitions from Korea and the World
Sun Young Mun
307

Every person somehow does believe in superstitious beliefs. In different

situations we tend to believe in superstitions although we know that they are not true.

There are many interesting superstitions with historical evidence and no evidence to

believe not only in Korea but also in many other countries.

There are superstitions originated in Korea many years ago, most people do

not believe in them anymore but there are still some superstitions that still affect

people’s life. First of all, a good example of a Korean historical superstition is “If you

hear a crow cry, you will get bad luck”. According to Korean folklore society (2008)

the history of this superstition says that King Soji received a letter that was about

conspiracy to kill him and because it was a crow who delivered this letter to him, crow started to be known as a bird that brings bad luck to people. On the other

hand, there are some examples of superstitions from Korea with no historical

evidence and that people believe it just for fun such as “Do not scribble on sleeping

person’s face” because left soul cannot find the body it belongs so the person will die

and “You will forget what you studied if you wash your hair on the test day” Korean

people believe that knowledge can be washed as well if you wash your hair.

There are many other superstitions from all over the world and people

believe it has a great impact on us. These superstitions differ from one place to

another. Firstly, an example of a superstition from other country with historical

evidence is “Four-leaf clovers represent good luck”. Legends say that when Adam

and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, Eve took with her a four-leaf clover

as a remembrance of her days in Paradise. Since then, all four-leaf clovers were

represented as a symbol of luck. (Walter, 2010, p.66-67).
However, there are also superstitions from all over the world with no historical

evidence such as “Wishes come true when we pray for hope while shooting stars are

falling down” this superstition is well-known to all people and it is believed that the

shooting star delivers our wish to the other stars in the sky and a superstition from

Nigeria “There is a custom to put 2 clocks in the church. One with the correct time

and the other one with the wrong time” it is believed that people put 2 clocks to avoid

the evil to know the time of the mass.

In conclusion, superstitions with historical evidence and with no evidence at

all exist also Korea and all over the world. Although lots of superstitions exist in all

over the world, it is not recommendable to believe in all of them. Most of the

superstitions just exist for fun and they are part of culture but it is the reality that

people believe in superstitions to feel safe.

References:
Walter, G. (July 3, 2009). Dictionary of Superstitions. (pp.66-67)
Korean folklore society. (2008). Tale: Korean folklore series. (pp.455)

References: Walter, G. (July 3, 2009). Dictionary of Superstitions. (pp.66-67) Korean folklore society. (2008). Tale: Korean folklore series. (pp.455)